better when we're together
by bluepianos
Summary: Separation anxiety doesn't need a cause, or a trigger, or a reason. When you miss someone, you miss someone, and it only gets better once you see them again with your own eyes, feel their skin with the fingertips of your own hands, and fill their lungs with the scent of your own, real love. AKA: Artemis returns from spending spring break in Vietnam. (Established Wally/Artemis.)


**Words** : 4,025  
 **Disclaimer** : [whitney voice] i have nothing, _noTHING_

 **Dedication** : This story is my incredibly, shamefully belated submission for the _YJ Valentine's Day Fic Exchange 2017_. Surprise, surprise, my assignment was my good friend Tumblr user **jostenneil** , known on this website as **ember53608**. Sorry for lying to your face probably multiple times to make sure you couldn't figure out it was me but I do hope you enjoy this.

 **Notes** : I'd also like to dedicate this story to my wonderful friend Majka (for having faith) who I cannot wait to see this summer. Also special thanks to Lali for checking it over when I wasn't sure how to rate this baby lol. Also! Side note - my babes are in _sophomore year_ in this! I double – no, _triple_ checked this. 2015 is their sophomore year in university and 2016 is their junior year, seriously, I went back multiple times to make sure but it only upset me because this also means that WALLY WEST HAD JUST ONE MORE YEAR BEFORE GETTING HIS BACHELOR'S IN PHYSICS! I'M WRECKED!

 **Warning** : Lots of kisses, some sexy time implications here and there because jostenneil is a horn dog and she knows it. A little more sensual than my previous works but my lovely two mains are in university and c'mon, you and I both know that they probably banged like _latest_ a month after getting together in high school. Come on.

 **better when we're together**

Wally wakes up to the smell of burning waffles.

Actually, they could've been pancakes, but his nose is well-trained from twenty-odd years of being spoilt by his mother's spectacular cooking so he can actually differentiate between the two breakfast meals. They were definitely waffles.

It makes him kind of sad.

A short pang of something like regret whizzes through his heart and the thought of the blackened and burnt batter, inedible and banished into the depths of their trash bin, makes him feel heavy inside. Honestly, what a waste.

At the thought of the waffles that could have been, Wally forces his eyes open and rolls from his stomach onto his back before slowly sitting up and stretching out the cricks in his shoulders and neck. He really needs to talk to Dick at some point about cutting down on his shifts with the team (he hates calling them that - 'shifts' - but at this point, that's what they're starting to feel like).

Wally stumbles out of bed to make his way to the kitchen, still rolling his neck, and almost trips over Brucely, who's lying comfortably right outside the bedroom door, as if guarding the room. Whether he's trying to keep someone from getting in or getting out, Wally doesn't know, but either way, Brucely's proving to be a pretty pathetic guard dog because he doesn't even flinch as Wally steps over him.

"Some dog," Wally mumbles, rubbing a hand on his face to get rid of his drowsiness. He walks by the digital clock Kaldur had given to him and Artemis as a housewarming present ("It has come to my attention that when humans establish themselves into a new home, it is customary to present them with a … token to bless their new abode.") and a brief glance tells him it's only 8:06 in the morning. Wally pauses and backtracks to look at the clock again. Yep. 8:06.

 _Yikes_ , Wally's drowsy mind wonders. _Why is she even up right now?_

Around the corner and inside the kitchen, Wally hears Artemis mutter a soft curse under her breath before he hears the sound of her opening their trash bin and dumping the contents of what must be the waffle iron inside.

Wally reaches the opening to the kitchen and leans against the door frame for a second, taking in the almost painfully domestic view of Artemis Crock trying to make breakfast in the kitchen of their shared apartment wearing his Stanford t-shirt (and _only_ his t-shirt probably) with her legs stretching out for days, tanned and toned from a well-spent spring break in Vietnam.

At the moment, she's leaning over the kitchen counter and taking deep breaths, probably counting to a hundred – an anger-management technique Conner taught her when something doesn't go quite the way they expect – and God be with him, but the way she's curved over the counter right now gives Wally a view of the back of her thighs that he hasn't seen for at least a week.

He makes an effort to ignore the lump in his throat and shuffles over to her, reaching out slowly to rest his fingers lightly on her waist. When he touches her, she stops counting and the tension in her shoulders dissipates, giving him the confidence to step closer and press the skin of his chest against the cloth on her back. Artemis mutely reaches down with one hand and grasps gently at his fingers and in response, he snakes his arms fully around her waist and finally buries his nose against the base of her neck. Only then does he notice the recent change in her hair; that her neck is freed from the long, bright yellow strands that used to drape over her neck haphazardly; and that he misses the softness and smell of her hair. With all of those thoughts buzzing through his sleep-drunk haze, he presses a kiss near the base of her skull almost mindlessly.

"Babe, it's 8:06 in the morning on a _weekend_ ," he says in a croaky and tired voice, still raw from screaming across the courtyard during last night's scuffle with the ice gang.

"I was hungry," Artemis responds simply, leaning back against him. It's still chilly in the mornings and she misses the humidity and heat of Saigon, so she takes what warmth she can get, and she knows perfectly well that Wally has a lot of that to give. Artemis rests her head back on his shoulder with a sigh and he automatically drags his lips lightly across the side of her exposed throat, not quite kissing the skin, just nuzzling lightly. Wally hums a little, basking in the moment, cherishing it after a week of missing her, and he knows he's not the only one, if the small smile on Artemis's lips is any indication.

"You smell good," he says drowsily.

"You smell like shit," she says in response, her voice crystal clear.

"I love it when you talk dirty to me," Wally says without missing a beat. Artemis laughs at that, letting go of his hands and turning around in his arms. He slides them down to the bend of her waist and gazes down at her with a wicked grin, one of his lazier ones, and she figures that's because it's still 8:07 in the morning and he doesn't have the energy to give her one of his signature, shit-eating smiles that always drive her up the wall after a terrible joke.

"Go back to bed, Wallman," she urges softly, patting her hands firmly on his chest in a gentle nudge out of the kitchen. "I'll wake you up when I manage to cook something edible."

"Only if you come back to bed with me," Wally whines pathetically. Artemis gives him a distasteful look at his poor attempt at wooing her back to the bedroom.

"Don't be lame, you _know_ that doesn't work on me," she says.

"Come back to bed with me and Brucely?" Wally tries again, reaching down with both hands, interlacing their fingers and swinging their arms together. Artemis glances over his shoulder briefly in the direction of the bedroom and Brucely, and shoots Wally an unimpressed frown.

"Isn't Brucely on the floor?" she points out.

"Come back to the floor with me and Brucely?" Wally gives it one last try – third time's the charm? – but to no avail. Artemis stares at him with a blank look, but then the corner of her mouth twitches up and Wally beams again, fingers pressing tighter onto her waist and sliding around to the small of her back.

"We can cook and eat later," Wally says, his mouth automatically latching onto her skin again, this time on the rise of her collar bone, and tracing it up, up, up into the junction of her neck and her shoulder. Artemis jerks away just a little at his words and presses a hand to the side of his neck, and then up to his forehead.

Wally laughs and tilts his head away playfully. "What!"

"We can cook and what later?" Artemis repeats. Wally rolls his eyes in amusement.

" _Yes_ , we can eat later, it's not the end of the world."

"Oh, like I haven't heard that one before," Artemis says, to which Wally snorts ungracefully.

"Are you feeling okay?" Artemis presses suspiciously. Both Kid Flash _and_ Wally West are notorious for their bottomless stomachs. _Everyone_ knows that. They're _never_ not hungry and they can eat anything, at any time, on any day.

"I'm _fine_ , Artemis, I just - " Wally sighs and looks at her tiredly, if not fondly. Artemis arches an eyebrow at him expectantly.

"Spit it out," she says. Wally narrows his eyes at her and drops his head backwards, whining.

"Are you gonna make me say it?"

"I don't _know_ , Wally, depends on what you want to say," Artemis answers haughtily. Wally scrunches his nose at her in annoyance and doesn't say a thing so she opens her mouth again.

"I missed you," Wally says in a rush before she can say anything, spitting it out quickly and all at once before he can lose the nerve. "Okay?"

Artemis blinks at him as if she were expecting something else.

"I missed you, too," she repeats back at him, but she says it slowly, because that's obvious and it's a given that they'd miss each other. They've been solid and steady partners for a good few years now, in more ways than just 'boyfriend and girlfriend' or 'friendly neighborhood superheroes'. Of course she missed him. Even her own _mother_ missed him, but that might just be a testament to her boyfriend's wily charms.

"No, Artemis, listen," Wally glances downwards and avoids her eyes at first, then steps closer into her, if that's even possible. The skin of her bare thighs press up against the sweatpants he sleeps in and then there isn't a single centimeter, a _milimeter_ even, in between their upper bodies.

Artemis's facial expression changes quickly from incredulous and confused to hyperaware and curious. Wally brings his eyes up and fixes them intently on hers. He raises his hands to hold her cheeks and they're warm and familiar on her skin, reminding her of what _she_ missed while she was away.

"I _missed_ you," he says again. The words _so much_ stays unspoken but are still apparent and heavy between them. He sighs quietly and reaches up to play with the ends of her hair, the strands still clean and crisp from their fresh cut. She lets him play with them, lets his words sit in what little air is left between them and soak in the atmosphere of the intangible heat of his love for her which is so raw in this moment that it's seeping into her own skin and bringing a flush to her cheeks.

 _I missed you_.

Okay, it hasn't been a particularly bad spring this year, compared to their freshman year of college (what a year). Now _that_ was a bad season; though the team was scattered between various universities and high schools over the country, Batman had still unceremoniously and firmly hammered them with numerous missions, a handful of investigations, and the random ad hoc local rescue gig in their respective areas. Not to mention the close call at Belle Reve that put Zatanna in a cast for half a month. So yeah, not the greatest spring break for all of them.

But this year's been quiet. There's no particular reason why he might've suffered from some form of separation anxiety in her absence. She hasn't gotten injured recently (or at least, nothing too harrowing) and neither has he; they haven't fought (much); and as far as she's aware, everything is sunshine and daisies between them, to put it pretty bluntly.

On the other hand – Artemis takes a second to reevaluate the situation – Wally doesn't _need_ a specific reason to miss her.

Isn't he allowed to just miss her? Just because?

(Of course he is.)

Artemis reaches up to still his hand, still grasping at her hair by her chin. His eyes quickly dart down to her hand before they move away again, focusing on the lines of gold hanging by her face and avoiding her eyes directly.

She can't help but smile up at him and it ends up being one of the most tender and loving shapes the lines of her face have ever made.

"Do you like it?" she asks quietly, side-stepping the conversation for a moment. He doesn't even ask to clarify what she's talking about.

" _Like_ it?" Wally laughs. "Babe, I love it. The cut's great, but you're always beautiful." He twists a strand of her hair on one finger and tugs on it gently, as if to emphasise his point. Artemis shuts her eyes and lets his words wash over her in a warm wave of contentment. She inhales shakily and leans forward, linking their fingers together again, and presses her forehead to his.

"It was only a week," Artemis says calmly, reasonably. Wally huffs again, half a laugh, half a snort.

"More like it was an _entire_ week," he retaliates, but with no bite. "I just… I'm really glad you had a good time with your mom, God knows you both deserve it, and you probably also deserve to have a longer break than just seven measly days in Vietnam, but I'm glad you had what you did."

 _But you still missed me_ , Artemis thinks.

That much is obvious, and the honest truth is, she missed him too.

Leaning up, she plants a tiny kiss on the freckle by his nose – one of the few he has left – and under his left eye. Wally blinks at her. That soft smile starts to come back but she leans up again and places another soft kiss on the same freckle and starts to trail more across his nose to his other cheek. She reaches up to cup his chin with both hands and registers Wally shutting his eyes while he lets her map a route across the blemishes on his skin.

"You know I missed you too, right? Despite having access to wifi every day?" A kiss by his ear.

"Did you really?" Wally's lips quirk up into a small smirk. It's 8:11 now, he's a little more awake.

A quick one to his temple, and then a tight press of her lips to the skin right above his eyebrow.

"I did, really," Artemis confirms. She plants a lingering kiss on his upper lip, right above his cupid's bow.

"Even when you went to the beach?" he pries. One on his chin. She adds a little teeth to that kiss and it makes him grin.

"Even when I went to the beach," she says.

"How about in the streets? Every time you were stuck in traffic?" Wally asks. Two on the cheekbone and one onto the softness of the middle of his cheek.

"Even in the middle of a traffic jam," Artemis says, smiling fully now at their little game and coming in close to press a kiss to his eyelid.

"Even when you and your mom spent the whole day binging on all that street food? Even then?" Wally jokes. Artemis drops her smile suddenly, all serious, and Wally worries for a split second that he'd said the wrong thing but before he can freak out about it, Artemis rises up on her tip toes and kisses him fully on the mouth. Her hands move from his chin and wrap behind his neck to press their lips closer together as she coaxes his mouth open with her own, showing him the full extent to just how much she missed him too.

He gives into her advances, tugging her closer and opening himself up to her,and lets her push into him, lets her do whatever she wants to his open mouth, because even though he knew she missed him with every Snapchat she sent while she was away, it's so much more satisfying to be comforted and remembered this way.

They eventually need air, of course, but she gives him little time to breathe, littering his lips with small kisses and finally answering his question with her mouth pressed to his.

" _Especially_ when we ate all that street food," she says, her breathing slightly heavy and her pupils blown. Wally gulps. For a second all he wants to do is pick her up, put her on the counter and make something other than breakfast with her but after a moment, he does the unthinkable and reconsiders.

Wally's an honest man. Artemis has successfully made an honest man out of him these past few years. So he's going to be perfectly honest: What he really wants right now is to curl up in bed next to her warm, preferably naked body, and go back to sleep.

(A passing thought crosses his mind regarding his deep unfettered desire to go to sleep: _Is this what getting older feels like?_ )

But he knows what he wants right now, pushes aside his initial desires for later (not too far later, maybe after a nap or something) and lays a final kiss on her forehead.

"Let's go back to bed," he proposes again. Artemis sighs and drops her hands from the back of his neck.

"I'm not even tired! And I haven't even eaten anything yet because of those stupid waffles."

Wally glances at the waffle iron that's sitting on the counter. He could be wrong but there seems to be an air of shame around the machine.

"You know we've had that thing since we moved in here and you still don't know how to use it," he teases her.

"Probably because you've always been the one to make them," Artemis fires back defensively.

"Then you could've just woken me up," Wally grins.

"You were tired!"

"So are you."

Artemis snorts. It's very unladylike but she manages to sound cool when she does it. (When Wally does it, he kind of sounds like he's constipated.)

"I'm not tired, I'm just jet lagged. I didn't get any sleep last night even after going twelve rounds with that big icicle monster thing."

"Full offense, babe, but that doesn't change the fact that _I'm_ sleepy, it's a Saturday morning, and we'd still have the entire day left even if we took like a two hour nap." He finishes with a yawn that's totally real and totally un-fake but totally helps make his point. Artemis just shoots him another curious look.

"Are you really not hungry?" she asks again dubiously. This time Wally deadpans and looks at her blankly, as if to say _Obviously I'm hungry, I'm always hungry,_ but instead of verbalizing it, he takes her hand and holds it loosely.

"Artemis, I say this with as much reverence and respect to you as a person, a woman, and as my girlfriend," Wally starts and Artemis cocks an eyebrow as if to warn him to think carefully about his next words. "But I would really, really, _really_ much rather curl up next to your warm and naked body right now, I'm not gonna lie."

The way he says it is so nonchalant and honest for 8:15 in the morning that it actually catches Artemis off-guard. She has half a mind to insist that she doesn't need to sleep (partially a lie, she loves sleep almost as much as she loves him) or to berate him for desiring her physical characteristics above anything else and what that could imply about his values in their relationship.

It _is_ flattering, though.

"Um," she says eloquently, blinking once and making a decision. "Okay."

"Wait, what?" Wally has about one second to process her words before Artemis reaches for the hem of his Stanford t-shirt, quickly pulls it up and over her head, leaving her bare to Wally (and _only_ Wally) before tossing it into the laundry bin in the far corner of the kitchen ( _swish_ ), grabbing his hand, and leading him to the bedroom.

Once they've stepped over Brucely and made it to the bed, Wally excitedly pulls the covers over their heads to protect them from the daylight streaming through the curtains but at this point the light is unavoidable. They both turn to their sides and face each other, but neither of them make any effort to go back to sleep. Instead, Wally pulls Artemis close to him, keeping one hand under her waist and another resting on her hip. Artemis instantly tangles her legs with his and nudges her head so it fits under his chin.

After a moment, Wally pipes up.

"So how was it?"

"Hmm?"

"Vietnam. How was it?"

"Hot. Busy. Super crowded. Hot."

"Yeah, I can see that," Wally says as his fingers dance up her arms and trail back down to her legs where her skin is darker than the rest of her body.

"What else?" he prompts. She's silent at first before she opens her mouth again.

"It was nice," she starts simply, then she proceeds to tell him stories. She talks about the city of Saigon and how welcomed and at home she felt. She tells him about northern Vietnam and her mother's home village, about the beach they visited near the house her mom grew up in and the colorful, noise little tricycles they rode almost every day whether they were in the city or in the fields. She makes him laugh with a story about a little old man at the fish market who wouldn't leave her and her mother alone, about how he waxed poetry about her beauty and hair and exquisite manners, but mostly about her hair. She even almost leaves the bed at some point upon remembering that she'd brought back packs and packs of Vietnamese coconut candy because she knew at once after she tried it that Wally would love it. She reminds him that her decision to study comparative literature at university was her most brilliant decision because the way she paints a story with her voice and her words is so natural and engaging that he never wants her to stop telling him stories.

And then she says, "I want to take you there some day."

Wally stops tracing circles around her belly button (an odd habit she used to laugh at, mainly because it tickles, but one that she draws comfort in now because it's so _familiar_ ) and leans back to look at her properly.

"I mean, if you want to," Artemis adds hastily before Wally kisses her. His hands slide up her navel, up her torso and slides down her arms to pin her hands to the bed while he positions himself over her body. He works his lips against hers at an urgent pace but he tries his damned best to be gentle, to communicate the gravity of the _love_ he feels in this precise moment. It may or may not be working but Wally thinks it probably is by how Artemis starts to arch upwards to press her chest closer to his and how she's clenching his hands to seek friction, and especially in how her legs have snaked up to lock around his waist and are squeezing him firmly in place.

When their chests start heaving at the same rhythm and when they're practically breathing the same air, he lets her go with a low moan but keeps his eyes on her.

(Good _Lord_ has he missed her.)

"I, uh – " Wally licks his lips and Artemis hums at the sight. "Yeah. I'd like that. To go to Vietnam, I mean. With you."

Artemis laughs quietly and nods, leaning up to kiss him again.

It's a bit of give and get for a few moments after that. She tells him more about Vietnam and he comments here and there, earning laughs and kisses and little slaps to his arm every now and then.

"You know, now that I think of it, one of the electives I can choose next year is Vietnamese literature," Wally says suddenly, lying flat on his back with Artemis draped over him, her hands snuck under his back to leach his body warmth while his hands run up and down from her shoulder blades to the back of her thighs because he really does love the back of her thighs.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, and it's not too many credits, actually, so I'm thinking it might make your mom really happy if I can understand more Vietnamese than just 'hello' and 'can I have more rice'."

Artemis pulls her hands from under the warmth of his back and props herself up so she can look down at him properly.

"What?" Wally asks. "I mean, if you've got the credits to spare, we can, I don't know, take it together. If you want to."

Artemis shakes her head fondly at him and settles back down onto his chest, like she belongs there.

(They both know she does.)

"I'd like that, too."

 _\- fin -_

* * *

 **Notes** : Could I please have a round of applause for Tumblr user **icanhearyouglaring** for once again organizing this fic exchange, for yet again dealing with my tardiness (hey whatever life happens) and for making the effort to give our fandom more material to celebrate the show. You're a real star.


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